At last. When Pep Guardiola was appointed manager of Manchester City in 2016, it was with a specific task of winning the Champions League. Five years on, a 2-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain (4-1 on aggregate), has secured a place in the club’s first Champions League final, taking Guardiola back to that stage for the first time in a decade.
The knockout stage of the Champions League has brought frustration after frustration for Guardiola, to the point of leading him at times to doubt his philosophy. There has been misfortune, there have been errors, there have been bizarre team selections, but here, at last, there was nothing to stop him.